Dardanelles : a midshipman's diary, 1915-16 /H.M. Denham.

"This diary, richly illustrated by unpublished photographs and plans, is an important addition to the Gallipoli archive. Henry Denham's account reveals the courage, waste, muddle and triumph that are associated with the names of Gallipoli and Dardanelles. Denham, well known to cruising people and travelers for his Mediterranean Sea-Guides, began his colourful career in the Royal Navy at the naval colleges of Osborne and Dartmouth. It was as a cadet the he first went to sea on the outbreak of the war in 1914: he found himself aboard HMS Agamemnon and within weeks was steaming down the English Channel for an unknown destination. On reaching the Dardanelles midshipmen were prohibited - for security reasons - from keeping official journals. Denham kept a private diary in which he recorded day-to-day combat as well as outspoken comments on his seniors and on the actions in which he was involved. His powers as an observer and recorder are seen clearly: his keen pen-portraits of personalities, British and foreign, and his noting of the minutiae of naval warfare put you aboard an old broadside battleship during one of the last set piece actions, played out according to the old tactics. He saw much of the action aloft in the precarious and often violently lively crow's-nest and sometimes had fine views of Turkish gunners and occasional infantry charges. On the sea he commanded a steam picket-boat in the Suvla Bay landings -- a splendid observation post for the foibles and failings of the commanders."--dust jacket.